Where can I get a cheap 670nm laser pointer?

[zyxwv99]

5mW would be fine.

:can:

 

[bloompyle]

You could build one with a 5mW diode from Thorlabs like I am.

 

[steve001]

5mW would be fine.

:can:

Try a dollar store like the Dollar Tree chain of stores if you have one in your area.

 

[zyxwv99]

Thanks for the feedback. Besides wanting a low-power 670nm laser pointer, I'm also doing research for several Wikipedia articles (on lasers) that I am editing. In particular, the claim that 670nm is the most common wavelength of cheap laser pointers (which appears in some form in several articles). This claim also seems to be all over the web in general.

Apparently that was true at one time, but not any more. 650nm seems to have replaced 670nm as the standard wavelength of a cheap laser pointer. Since 650nm has much higher visibility than 670nm (due to the color sensitivity of the human eye), most of the market for 670nm seems to have evaporated. For people who really need the longer wavelength, there is (the more expensive) 671nm DPSS. For example, some hunters prefer 671nm, as many animals cannot see far-red.

I have spent quite a few hours online looking for an inexpensive 670nm laser pointer, with no luck. Some Office-Depot type places sell a brand called Quartet for about $30, but if you go to the manufacturer's website it says nothing about 670nm.

I just got back from the dollar store, where I picked up a cheap laser pointer, only to get it home and read the fine print on the Danger Laser Radiation label: 5mW, 650nm±10.

My preliminary conclusion is that cheap 670nm laser pointers have gone the way of the slide rule (last one made July 11, 1976) and the steam locomotive (last one made in China in 1999). Of course the diodes are still available, but as far as I can determine, a genuine commercially-produced 670nm non-DPSS laser pointer is, if not a valuable antique, at least a hard-to-find vintage collectible.

 

[ZRaffleticket]

Bloom said thorlabs still has the diodes. They're still made just very uncommon as there's no practical need for that wavelength

If you just want a "deeper" red go for 685nm, that'll stay in a very fair price range.

 

[Cyparagon]

670nm the most common? Maybe 15 years ago it was. The vast majority I've measured are about 655nm.

 

[zyxwv99]

Maybe I should restate the question. This is for Wikipedia articles on lasers, including history of lasers.

Are any non-DPSS 670nm laser pointers still being commercially produced and available to the consumer through ordinary retail channels? I don't mean DIY jobs, but something you can buy in a store or order online.

If not, when did the last one come off the assembly line?

We know when the last Ford Model T came off the assembly line: May 27, 1927.

Since non-DPSS 670nm laser pointers were once as ubiquitous as the Ford Model T, the day the last one came off the assembly line would be a significant historical event.

It would also be helpful in knowing how to make corrections to articles that speak of this type of laser as if it still existed.

On a tangentially related topic, I am also interested in acquiring lasers at unusual wavelengths, my current interest being in the far-red range, e.g., greater than 650nm but less than 780nm. The more wavelengths in that range the better.

Any vintage/antique non-DPSS 670nm laser would be great too.

 

[ZRaffleticket]

Yeah but a laser diode isn't quite as "important" as a car. Finding information on old cars is a lot easier than diodes because there's A) demand and B) a bigger hobby/fanbase.

Besides, after doing five minutes of searching I can conclude that 670nm diodes are still being manufactured.

As for finding a "vintage" 670nm pointer I wish you luck...

 

[zyxwv99]

Yeah but a laser diode isn't quite as "important" as a car. Finding information on old cars is a lot easier than diodes because there's A) demand and B) a bigger hobby/fanbase.

Besides, after doing five minutes of searching I can conclude that 670nm diodes are still being manufactured.

As for finding a "vintage" 670nm pointer I wish you luck...

You seem to be confused as to what this thread is about. It's not about laser diodes, 670nm or otherwise. It's about documenting the demise of the 670nm laser pointer for historical research purposes. Apparently this particular variety was "the Ford Model T of laser pointers," i.e., not the first, just the first one cheap enough that ordinary people could afford to buy one. Furthermore, it seems to have been owned by more people than ever owned a Ford Model T.

 

[shokkunlasers]

Ok if somebody here is still interested I actually found a cheap 670nm laser diode http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/670nm-10mW-Laser-Diodes-with-PD/709547_601374235.html
with datasheet so it seems to be a real one and you get a free photodiode with it

 

[steve001]

On a tangentially related topic, I am also interested in acquiring lasers at unusual wavelengths, my current interest being in the far-red range, e.g., greater than 650nm but less than 780nm. The more wavelengths in that range the better.

Any vintage/antique non-DPSS 670nm laser would be great too.

Tangentially there's are 555nm and *561nm dpss lasers and 610nm if memory serves.

*This comes in a pointer. CNI makes it.

 

[zyxwv99]

Thanks for the tips. 555nm sounds great, since that's the peak sensitivity wavelength of human color vision, as well as the wavelength at which lumens are measured. I also appreciate all the tips about 670nm laser diodes, as it looks like I'll probably build my own.

I just feel sorry for the poor Wikipedia articles I'm trying to edit, since there doesn't seem to be any reliable history of laser pointers, especially the famous cheap 670s (RIP).